Nearly 100 play in Fallbrook junior satellite tennis tourney

Nearly 100 youth tennis players participated in the 29th annual Fallbrook Fall Junior Satellite Tournament which took place Sept. 7and 8, 14 and 15 at the Fallbrook Tennis Club.

“There was some really good tennis, surprisingly good, for a satellite,” said tournament organizer Dorothy Roth.

The tournament was sanctioned by the Southern California Tennis Association and thus by the United States Tennis Association. A satellite tournament allows young players to earn SCTA rankings. “It builds a good foundation for the tennis in the area,” Roth said.

The Fallbrook tournament’s emphasis on allowing players to obtain experience includes a consolation bracket, so each player has at least two full matches. While some tournaments utilize a tiebreaker to 10 points if the first two sets are split, the Fallbrook satellite tournaments play a full third set. “It’s nice for them to have that experience,” Roth said.

That created a Boys 10 Singles consolation finals match which lasted more than three hours. Temecula’s Martin Arabshahi defeated Fallbrook’s Jette Payne by a 7-5 margin in the first set, Payne countered with a 6-4 victory in the second set, and Arabshahi secured the match with a 7-5 triumph in the final set. “It was an extremely close match,” Roth said.

In the Boys 10 Singles championship bracket, two players from San Diego faced each other in the finals with Askarsh Vermani taking a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Daniel Shaw.

The Boys 12 Singles finals championship match between two Carlsbad players saw Ryan Pinter defeat Christian Keillor in 6-0 and 6-3 sets. Natalie Duffy of Hemet won the Girls 12 Singles title after illness caused Bonsall’s Isabella Hurley to withdraw from the championship match.

The Girls 14 Singles champion was Peyton Haahr of Rancho Santa Fe, whose finals match was a 6-1, 6-2 triumph against Carlsbad’s Calli Shafer. In the Boys 14 Singles finals, Chase Smallwood of San Diego defeated Temecula’s Matthew Hynek in a pair of 6-2 sets.

Cameron Mofid of La Jolla and Samuel McNeal of Coronado faced off in the Boys 16 Singles finals. Mofid prevailed six games to one in the first set. The second set was tied at six games apiece, triggering a tiebreaking game to seven points. Mofid’s 7-3 victory in the tiebreaking game gave him the set, match, and championship.

Rebecca DuPont was one of two Fallbrook winners in the local tournament. DuPont won the Girls 16 Singles title with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Madeline Sweeney of Temecula. Although California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) rules prevent participation with a club team during the sport’s CIF season, players on a high school team may compete as individuals in a tournament. The tournament thus did not affect the eligibility of DuPont or the other Fallbrook High School girls players.

Fallbrook’s other tournament division winner was Nataliya Yamkova, who earned her Girls 18 Singles championship with a 6-4, 6-2 finals victory over Rebekah Dyer of Ramona. The Fallbrook duo of Lina Huang and Emily McClay reached the Girls 16 Doubles finals before falling in 6-0 and 6-3 sets to Sweeney and Isabelle Gilmartin of Murrieta.

Two divisions had a round-robin format. Carlsbad’s Tristen Dabreau won the Boys 18 Singles championship. The Girls 18 Doubles title went to Haley Hardam of Valley Center and Kylie Meyer of San Marcos.

Although Roth was the tournament’s organizer, she noted the importance of the match-day assistance she received. “I really appreciate all the help we had for the tournament,” Roth said. “It worked out very well.”